How do I increase my attention span? I'm trying to read more, but I always stop reading after half an hour. Any tricks you guys use?
Coffee
>>8254558
leave 4chan and never look back
>>8254642
Hahaha, no.
It is hard to stay concentrated for a long time. Read for half an hour and then take a break. Make some coffee, go for a run, eat some food. Taking breaks is not a bad thing and allows you to absorb the material you just read.
>>8254653
Thanks! I'll try that.
>>8254558
What "prevents" you from reading?
I usually read a good book for hours on end.
Maybe you just need to find something you genuinely like.
I use the somewhat controversial technique of growing a pair. It's amazing what you can do whenyou, you know, keep reading.
sounds like you like the idea of reading, but not reading itself
>>8254558
Try removing the opportunity to easily distract yourself. The net is the biggest source of distraction, so try leaving your computer and phone in a safe place and going somewhere comfortable, quiet and well-lit to read. Bring a piece of paper or a notebook in case you have thoughts you want to follow up on later. It's OK to take breaks for a coffee or water or to stretch or walk around for a minute, just come back to the book when the break is over.
>>8254558
>How do I increase my attention span?
don't dive right into difficult works. you need to improve your retention to improve your attention. diving right into really hard shit will get you frustrated and zoning out really quickly.
also try to always underline + annotate. it will help you work the text out and process it spatially which in turn will keep you engaged for longer periods. get into the habit of starting this as soon as you can, because you *will* need to be doing this as you progress to harder texts.
start off with smaller classic texts that you can ace quickly. things like 'heart of darkness' etc. you will feel more confident as you see those finished books pile up. avoid doorstoppers right now. also small story collections would be good.
>>8254558
music.
or just read a chapter, make that the goal of the session.
eventually, after plowing thru books you'd thought you'd like, and ones that made an impression, reading will become more of an easy pleasure.
You'll get some tastes.
Good luck.
>>8254558
Turn off any electronic distractions while reading.
Cut down on the time you spend browsing the internet/watching TV or Netflix. All this contributes enormously to a shortened attention span.
I'd also second some other anons and advise frequent breaks. Take a pee break every twenty minutes or so. Even getting up and reading a few pages in a different room/chair helps me stay focused.
Don't get sucked into TV/internet during your breaks.
So here's what I do: just pretend you're cramming for a test:
Read the first 3 and last 3 pages of each chapter then write down whats going on in bullet points, then move on. Take notes on the bare minimum, like the absolute simplest description of who your characters are and what happened. Just rush through the book in a mad dash skipping everything- speed readers do this in their competitions if you need examples.
When you're done with the first pass you will be super confused still but that's okay. Go back in from the beginning and read the entire chapters this time, but skip all odd pages. Don't get hung up on each page either! In grad school I used a stopwatch and timed each page to complete in 70s or less. When the stopwatch goes off or earlier, force yourself to write one bullet point about what happened on that page, and move on. At the end of each chapter, write some notes on what happened. Imagine, when you write these notes, you have to present to a seminar-type class, where it's you and your peers and you're professor sitting around a table and you have to speak and make interesting observations. Keep your notes short and concise- like something you could scribble on the back of your hand. Use abbreviations and exaggeration to make it clear.
Now, on you're third run through the book you should still be timing yourself to 1:10 per page or less but its easier and you already know the gist of it. Just burn through as fast as you can, and slowly you'll start to get better at extracting the meaning from the text, not just re-reading it. Keep google open to figure out big words or references you don't understand.
It sounds like a lot to read a book three times, but its generally a 6-8 hour process from start to finish, and always faster than reading linearly.
